Infection, Zootopia
by ArkSong
Summary: Bellwether was stopped, species relations returned to normal, and all was good. But when does it ever stay so? A year of army-issued Night Howler research later, and we have an apocalypse on our paws. As you'd expect, this' ll contain a lot of death. Buckle up, kiddos.
1. Prologue

**4:25 am**

The deer sprinted through the empty street, puffing out clouds of white breath into the chill tundra air. Normally a creature such as himself would not dare venture into such arctic environments without the proper clothes, but this wasn't exactly a normal occasion. Plus, the temperature had increased as the great machines that kept the districts terraformed broke down, so that even he could bear it. Just. For without constant surveillance and repairs, the city was slowly reverting back to its original chapparal state, although the deer was fairly certain most of the inhabitants would not care.

They were beyond that. Beyond anything really, including death.

The deer grimaced, and kept running.

-=Z=-

 **4:40 am**

Paws slapped the pavement in a quiet rhythm, accompanied by the puffing exertions of the deer as he stared ahead, ignoring the spots in his eyes. He wanted to stop, his body wanted him to stop, but a cursory glance behind him confirmed that such an action would be suicide. He knew he was going to die, any minute now, but he wanted to do it on his terms, go painlessly and at peace with himself, not become one of those... _things_ that were pursuing him. Yet, until that phone in his paw lit up, he wasn't going anywhere.

-=Z=-

 **4:50 am**

There were more. More that had joined in this desperate chase for freedom. Not his own, but he had accepted that. So, in a sad, twisted way, he was glad there were more. It meant he was doing his job.

-=Z=-

 **4:55 am**

He had circled around for the last time. It had been completely empty when he came through, at least as far as he could see, and it was again, he was certain. Now he ran without direction. With a purpose, which kept him going, but without a set location. So he took it upon himself to just enjoy the scenery. Sure, the buildings were in a sorry state, despite the few weeks that had passed since this had all began, but there were parts that shone through, untouched, and they were what he focused on. A budding flower, fighting the receding frost. A beautiful painting of a rabbit displayed in a window. A spectacular sunrise, deep reddish hues splattered across the sky like...

He looked back down. He had seen enough of that.

-=Z=-

 **4:58 am**

A new one had joined the pack, and the deer had to push harder than ever to keep the distance. His efforts did little, however, for the distance was receding between himself and the... well, he would have said predator, but wasn't every animal a predator now?

The deer looked at his phone again, hoping. Hoping.

-=Z=-

 **4:59 am**

The phone buzzed.

 _We're safe. 36 Alcassant Lane. See you soon._

The deer smiled a sad smile. He wanted to text back, tell them that he couldn't, that he loved them but couldn't come back because the bad animals would come after him. He trusted his wife to keep them safe, keep them out of harms way. His sacrifice hadn't been for nothing. He smiled again, a humorless smile, as his phone beeped. No signal. Finally. He had been surprised the towers lasted as long as they did, what with the terraformers already breaking down and the city's generators slowing.  
The deer heard the snapping of jaws behind him, and didn't even have to turn to know that it was there, the others close behind.

It was time.

-=Z=-

 **5:00**

The deer skidded around a corner, and behind him his pursuers went wide, giving him just enough time to dive through a shop door and slam it shut. He locked it, even though he knew it wouldn't hold for long. Plus, the large glass windows probably weren't the best protection. He was just thankful the shop was empty. He heard a bell toll, signaling the hour. That was still going, too, without a care in the world that it rung on dead ears.  
The pounding on the door began, and the sound of splintering wood filled the room.

The deer glanced at his phone one more time, whispered his love, and pulled out the knife.

-=Z=-

 **5:51 am**

By the time those flesh - eating bastard smashed their way in, the deer was dead, and as bloody as the sunrise he had shunned only earlier. Not that they cared. It was meat. Still warm, and uninfected. And that was all that mattered.  
Vile, horrible, disgusting.

This was the infection.


	2. Chapter 1: Apartment

"Nick, why are the knives in the sink?"  
"I thought we should probably clean them. What with the... you know... blood and all."

Hopps closed her eyes. She could still see it, the first time she'd killed another mammal. _It wasn't another mammal._ Nick kept telling her. _The things out there aren't mammals. They're monsters, and they'll kill without batting an eyelid._ It didn't help, but the images were best ignored. Dwelling on such things wasn't a good idea, especially when there were more pressing things to think about. Plus, she'd 'killed' (re-killed?) many times since, and each time the images were blurrier. She couldn't recall their faces anymore, and it scared her how easy killing had become. Now it was just something that happened, part of a life she didn't want to live. _Best not to dwell on things like this either._ She thought. So she focused on one of the few things she _did_ still enjoy; banter with Nick.

"Yet I see you've failed to wash them." She frowned.  
"Well I... was kinda hoping you'd do it." Nick's head peeked up from behind the couch, ears nicked in places and fur a terrible mess, but eyes as bright as ever.  
"And why is that? Because I'm the girl?"  
"N-no! Just... because... you're the boss..? He tried, and Judy raised an eyebrow. Nick sighed, and got up. "Okay, okay... I'll do it."

The rabbit gave him a pat on the back and stepped aside, watching the fox turn on the tap and silently thanking Zootopia's independent water system.  
They had been on a stakeout when the infection hit, and because they were pretty much living with the guy they were surveying, they had no phones, no way to communicate. The fact that they were trapped in a packed apartment filled with animals that wanted to tear them apart (even before the incident) meant that they had quickly become friends with their target. And when the ferret had tried to escape one late evening, saying that he just had to _try_ to leave the city, they had thought maybe there was hope for them, too.

Then they heard his screams, echoing through the halls.

For two long weeks they had stayed there, before the food had completely run out, and so they had started raiding their long-deceased neighbors' apartments, looking for anything edible. By the time they had found an accessible phone, the signal had gone.

Now, just over a full month later, they had pretty much completely cleared the apartment and were doing quick supply runs to the surprisingly under-looted store across the street.  
"What 'cha thinking about there Hoppers?"  
"Do you really want to know?"  
Nick considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "Unless it's about flowers or colourful rainbows? No.  
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoi-"

She stopped, ears erect, and gestured frantically to Nick. The fox went to move towards her but cursed, grabbing his paw. Judy looked at him in confusion, and he pulled it out of the water to show her. "Cut it." He simply whispered, then shut up as something outside shuffled up to the door. Judy reached for the high - voltage taser she kept on her belt, where she used to keep the fox spray, and padded silently to the door. All was silent, and Nick began to think they were safe when he looked down and saw his paw really beginning to bleed quite profusely.

Then the something started sniffing.


	3. Chapter 2: Intrusion

Judy moved closer to the door, reaching out for the handle. Behind her, Nick was looking at the rabbit in incredulous disbelief. Making as little noise as possible, he moved closer to Hopps and tried to catch her attention, but that rabbit was concentrating too hard to notice. On the other side of the door, whatever it was, the thing kept sniffing. The scent of Nick's blood must have attracted it; these new creatures seemed to have heightened senses. It made sense, really, as much of the 'transformation' was reverting back to pre-civilised behaviour, and so centuries of mammals becoming used to not having to constantly look for the next meal, or avoid _becoming_ the next meal, were suddenly undone. Nobody knew why it happened, it just did. And, really, everyone still living was a meal now.  
The rabbit's paw grasped the handle, a taser in her other one, and only now did she glance back at Nick to see what he was doing. The two held a quick gestural conversation.

Nick: _What in Zootopia are you doing!?  
_ Judy: _That thing isn't going anywhere._ Nick: _It will eventually!  
_ Judy: _Yeah, after it attracts others and they break this door down.  
_ Nick: _It has no idea we're in here! All it's doing is sniffing and-_

Then the sound of hard, sharp claws on wood filled the room. It was scratching at the door, loudly, and Judy knew that sooner or later, others would join it. They were sure they had cleared the apartment, but there were many rooms, many places to hide, and the defences they had set up at the entrances weren't exactly fool-proof. Or 'mad-flesh-eating-animal proof.'

Judy: _See!?  
_ Nick: ... _Okay, fine, you win. How do we do this?  
_ Judy: _Get your nice clean knives. I'll open the door, shock it, then you do your thing.  
_ Nick: _Why do I have to do it?  
_ Judy: _Uh… because I'm the boss.  
_ Nick: _I thought you just- ergh, never mind._

The fox moved quickly back to the sink, and grabbed a knife, the biggest one there. They weren't sure what kind of mammal was out there, but it was a predator, and likely a big one at that. It slipped a few times in his paw, his blood smearing the handle, and so he held it with two, and got into position by the other side of the door. They exchanged a glance, nodded, at Judy held up her paw,, counting down. _Three...Two...One…_ She turned the handle and opened the door wide. The creature stumbled, off balance, and Judy took the opportunity to dart forward and slam the taser into it's stomach. The device was made for elephants, and was enough to knock out a small animal for days, but Judy knew that with this creature, they had only seconds. She pulled it in, saw the spotted markings in its tan-orange fur. A cheetah. They were lucky they encountered it in here, where they had the element of surprise. She pivoted around and pushed it onto the floor, grunting with the effort. She doubted any other bunny would have managed such a feat, but the training she had undergone in the police academy had proved that size really wasn't everything. She closed the door, not slamming it, but didn't turn back. She didn't want to watch this.

Nick reacted quickly, darting forward the moment the animal hit the floor and jumping onto its chest. He raised the knife, aimed, then swung down in a lethal ark. The blade went right into the left eye, not quite where he was aiming, and the organ ruptured like foul, greyish jelly. The pain was enough to force the creature back into brief consciousness, and it opened its mouth to roar at him. That couldn't happen. Now Nick just stabbed the ex-cheetah over and over again, ignoring the blue-tinged blood that sprayed out of each wound he created. He aimed for the throat, slicing it up into a pulverised mess of tendon, fur, and gore, and it was enough to silence the creature. Instead it only gurgled, and the blood of its throat bubbled as the creature attempted to breathe. A normal mammal would have been dead by now, well and truly, but despite still needing oxygen and basic organ functionality, these creatures could still survive for hours without them. So he just kept stabbing, didn't even realise he was crying as he did so, and the tears dampened his fur as much as the blood that spurted up into his face and tinged his vision red.  
By the time the fox had finished, the cheetah's head was just a reddish-grey lump of splinted bone and torn, mutilated flesh. The knife in his paw was broken, completely, and he had continued anyway, smashing it with the handle until that too snapped. It was like he was releasing all of the anger he had ever bottled up inside of himself on this one, poor beast. And there was a lot of anger to channel. Behind him he heard a sniffle, turned to see Judy curled up by the door, crying. She hadn't watched it, and he was thankful she hadn't, but the sound of the knife entering the flesh over and over again mixed with the overpowering metallic scent of blood had painted images so gorily in her mind that it was too much. He would have hugged her if he wasn't so covered in the creatures blood.  
Nick wiped his own tears away and stood up, aching for one reason or another. He moved to the couch, grabbed a rug, and spread it over the creatures body. He got another, needed it to fully cover the dead-again creature, then padded slowly to the bathroom. He stripped quickly and stepped under the water. It wasn't hot, that had gone a while ago, but it was still running, and the icy spikes helped him stay anchored to this world. Let his mind go blank as he just washed out the blood from his matted fur. He half-heard the door open, saw a flash of grey as the rabbit entered. Her eyes were red, and she looked tired. Then again, they both were. Sleep didn't exactly come easy these days. He watched her move to the mirror, splash her muzzle with water. Rubbed her eyes a few more times, then she too undressed and opened the clear shower door. He moved aside to give her room, but didn't bother covering up. This wasn't exactly an erotic moment, although it was the closest they had come to it since the infection had spread.  
He washed his paw, his own blood mixing with with the Cheetah's, and he was glad the sickness wasn't spread through blood. At least, that's what he thought; it seemed to be spread through saliva, and the first, and last, news reports had stated that bites to limbs weren't immediately fatal; a quick amputation could prevent a spread. However, a slightly more worrying report, the last they had seen, stated that between animals of the same species, infection was much, much easier. Following, the further the species' were genetically apart, the harder it was to be infected. This probably explained why it spread so quickly, like wildfire; in Zootopia, mammals tended to stick with other mammals, and districts usually had communities of similar animals living together. Hence why the apartment they were in contained mainly smaller animals of the Mustelidae family, and why Judy had been so careful. An open wound meant staying inside until it healed. Thankfully there hadn't been too much of that, and most of the tenants had tried to leave in the first few hours, so there were really only about ten or so to… 'clean out.'  
Nick sighed, and moved forward to hug Judy. She wasn't crying any more, she just looked sad. On the verge of breaking. They all did, really.  
They embraced in the cold water, the only warmth left in each-other's lives.

They needed to leave this place.


	4. Chapter 3: Making Tracks

The hall was dark and silent, and that was almost worse than it being filled with infected animals. It meant that something, _anything_ , could be crouching, ready to jump out and rip them apart. The fox and the rabbit advanced slowly down the corridor, and whilst it was a walk they had made many times before, this time it felt different. The recent intrusion had made them realise that in this new world of theirs, _nowhere_ was safe. Letting your guard down was a death sentence. So Judy held a taser in one hand and a small knife in the other, whilst the fox held a clever and a large bat. The weapons weren't exactly the most effective, especially against impossibly resistant animals, but they made the two feel safer, as if the small items of defence could keep them alive no matter the odds.

"What exactly is our plan once we leave the complex?" Nick whispered, and Judy shrugged in response. They knew that needed to leave, that much was clear, but after that the future was a fog. They had packed what little personal possessions they carried into two tight-fitted bags, but they would need to 'swing by' the store opposite for a supply of long-lasting food. If they could find any left over.

They came to the stairwell and peered down. It was even darker than the hall; a windowless area in a building without power or emergency lights. Judy could see nothing, and so she glanced at Nick who was carefully surveying it. After a moment he nodded, more to himself than anything, and began down the steps, reaching out to hold Judy's hand and guide her.

It took a few minutes to reach the bottom, but it felt much longer; the stairwell echoed each step tenfold so that they had to keep stopping to check and listen. By this point the light of four o'clock (the clocks still ticked, despite everything) filtered through the dirty and cracked glass of the main entrance, allowing Judy to see through the musty, stale air to a few feet in front of her. However, it was her honed sense of hearing that made her shoot out her arm to stop Nick. The fox didn't question her, but ducked down behind an overturned table and pulled Judy down next to him.

It took Nick a few more seconds to hear it; the skittering of small paws on tile floor and chittering call of a ferret. It took a further few for it to come into view. It travelled on all fours, and its eyes were wide, staring, and soulless. It stayed away from the direct sunlight, sticking to shadows, and Judy was afraid for a moment that it would come their way, but then it stopped and turned, distracted by a far-off noise. The two held their breath as the animal cocked its head, then let it quietly out when the ferret scampered away.

The waited a few moments more, making sure the coast was clear; it wasn't like they could redo this, because in this new world everyone only had one chance. In perfect sinc the two got up and began padding quickly and quietly to the door. Judy gasped as she saw what had become of the barricade they had made only a week ago: it had been dismantled. Not destroyed, smashed or broken, but completely _disassembled,_ with the parts all laid neatly on the footpath. That was what chilled the rabbit most of all. An infected animal couldn't do that, right? Could it?

Advancing carfully through the doorway, they came up behind an overturned car and looked around, eyes darting to the shadows for any hidden animals. There were usually one or two wondering the street aimlessly, and hiding, darting from cover to cover, didn't present too much of a challenge. However, it took the two a moment to realise there were at least _ten_ ; two or three ferrets, a couple of big cats and a wolf. They were lucky they hadn't been spotted; it was unlikely they could've escaped if they had been.

"We need a distraction " Nick whisperer, and the bunny looked around hopelessly. What could they possibly use as a-

And then the gunfire began.


	5. Chapter 4: The Store

As the cracks of gunfire echoed through the street, the two mammals glanced at each other in confusion. Non-taser-based firearms had been outlawed in Zootopia and its surrounding regions decades ago, and were extremely rare, even in black markets. Judy knew for a fact that the precinct in which she worked - _used_ to work - held half a dozen under strict lock and key, but to the best of her knowledge they were just handguns. These sounded like seriously high-powered rifled.

"It's gotta be the military! They can get us out of here Judy!"

"We don't know that. They could be like those hyenas... which are the last mammals we want to be contending with. Plus, where's it coming from?"

The rabbit was right, and no matter hoe much Nick perked his ears, he couldn't tell the source of the gunfire. Then it stopped, and silence descended like a blanket upon them once again. Nick growled quietly. "We need to find them. They could be our ticket out of here."

"Or we could _not_ waste time trying to find mammals that'll be long gone by now and keep doing what we were doing."

Nick looked at her incredulously. "Don't you _want_ to get out of here?" The rabbit glared back. "Of course I do. But I want it to be on my terms. The moment I get out I'm heading to the Burrows."

"No way, that place'll have hundreds of thousands of infected rabbits."

Judy went quiet. Then she sighed. "I guess we'll just... have to split up, then."

Nick clenched his jaw. "Yeah, I suppose we will. Now, the street won't be empty for much longer. We going to go before the animals come back?"

The rabbit didn't say anything. She just stood and ran in a crouched posture to the other side of the street, slipping inside. Nick followed close behind.

-=Z=-

'Buck's Bazaar' had certainly faired well during the initial outbreak. Only one window was smashed, and the main amanities that had been taken were the non-perishable calory-filled snacks. The meet was off, well and truly - fish didn't have a particularly good shelf life, like the insects - but strangely most had been eaten by what the two assumed to be the feral animals. However, they had yet to see a feral with food poisoning.

Most of the medicine had been taken, too, by them and other survivors, but thankfully there was still enough for Nick to put a few aspirin and basic antibiotics in his bag. When he moved to the canned food isle, Judy grabbed a pawfull of basic medical supplies as well, then moved to the female's health section. Once there, she cursed, searching around the uncrowded shelves. She reached around and took out her phone - nearly depleted of battery and not particularly useful without a connection - and opened up the calendar app. There, two days away, the 16th was circled, with a line drawn under the following six days. "Crap. Crap crap cr-"

"What 'cha doing carrots?" Nick popped his head over the shelf. He had lightened up, having just found a still-in-date tin of preserved crickets tucked away at the back of a shelf. Certainly a delicacy in this new.

Judy jumped back, stammering a little. "Just... moisturizer! For, uh... dry pads!" Nick shrugged and walked away, heading to the kitchen isle. "Right, well... I need a new knife. We'd bettet leave soon, okay?"

"Yeah, o-okay." She slumped, but grabbed some moisturizer anyway, to keep up the story. Bloody heat. Centuries ago her species didn't even _have_ it, and now... well... without blocker and suppressors, she didn't know what she was going to do.

Judy sighed and stepped out of the medical isle, heading towards the kitchen isle as well when she stopped short. Was that something moving at the end of the Isle? She dropped to a couch and slowly peeked around the corner, holding her breath. She was right. But it wasn't just _one_ shape. Three hyenas, likely the same ones they had seen previously, were prowling silently past, heading the same way she was. They were going to pass the same isle Nicm was in, but she couldn't think of a way to alert him without getting torn apart by wild dogs.

Then she had an idea.

Grabbing a small tube of fish food pellets, she quietly but urgently climbed up a set of shelves and crouched on top, surveying the area. The hyenas were to big and too many to fight themselves, and just distracting them wouldn't help; they needed to get past them to leave without potentially setting off alarms.

She held the tube of fish food out, and dropped it. It fell through the air almost in slow-motion, and then hit the cold hard floor and shattered, small pellets bursting forth and covering the floor. The three hyenas whipped around and sprinted for the iles, and Judy quickly made her way down to the floor of the other side. Running to the legs of the shelf's left side, she pulled out the small pin she new sat there and watched it's left leg slide suddenly down. The shelf wobbled, and Judy grabbed a small convenienly-placed winch and shoved it into the space that briefly appeared between the floor and the leg. The result was as just as she'd hoped; the shelf toppled and fell right onto the hyenas, trapping them under boxes and boxes of... the rabbit glanced at the ilse label as she sprinted to grab Nick... boxes of ceramics. It wouldn't them for long, but it was enough time. She just hoped that the crash wasn't too loud. They last thing they wanted was more crazy ferals chasing after them.

As she skidded to a stop at the kitchen isle her head was nearly separated from her neck by the long shiny blade of Nick's new knife. He stepped back, relieved. "There you are. What was with the-"

"No time, gotta go." Judy breathed, and pulled him through the othet side and down the store. As they turned the corner to the exit a shaped dived towards them; a hyena that had managed to escape the collapse. Nick twisted around, pushing the rabbit out of the way, and as the hyena flew past drive his knife into its flank. It wasn't enough, however, and the creature landed, stumbled, and turned to them, snarling. It jumped again, and this time Nick was too slow. The creature grabbed him and smashed him into the floor, lips drawn back over chipped, sharp teeth, ready to sink its teeth into his neck. Then the animal convulsed, dropping to the side. Hopps jumped foward again, zapping the animal with the taser twice more until its fur began to smoke. Then she unsheathed her own small knife and aimed it at the hyena's skull. One quick stab later and the animal was dead for good.

Nick stood up slowly, breathing out.

"That was too close. Nice save, Judy." He leant backwards against a door, panting, and Judy dived toward to stop him but it was too late. Nick's back pushed the emergency bar and the door opened, and the alarms began wailing, filling the outside block with a shrill, racous announcement of the two's position. Outside, the slowly returning animals all turned towards the store.

Judy blinked at Nick. "Now... would be a good time to run."


	6. Chapter 5: The Return

It certainly _was_ a good time to run; no sooner had they sprinted through the store's back door when a horde came rushing in, growling and clawing at each other to get their paws on the 'fresh meat" first. Nick pulled the door shut behind him and looked frantically around for something to block it with, but Judy pulled him through the dimly lit hallway out into a long brick-walled alley. "I'm glad I wasn't here during a fire... I'm fairly sure this is all against protocol." Nick commented as they dodged an evil-smelling rubbish bin and some broken glass. The rabbit didn't reply, glancing back to see the fire escape shudder, it hinges rattling against the weight of many feral animals all pushing against it. At least they weren't smart enough to pull, but the door still wouldn't last very long against their administrations.

The two turned a corner, and saw the light of the main street streaming in from the end. If anything was to come from that way now, they'd pretty much be-

And then a lion, prowling on all four, padded past, turned, at stared at then. It didn't move for a moment, then growled at began bounding toward them in great long strides. Nick swore and pushed Judy down another alleyway, which of course was a dead end, but a quick glance upwards yielded a possible escape; well, a _fire_ escape, its metal frame tok high to reach by itself. There was a ladder though, pulled up. If they could just release that catch...

Judy grabbed Nick paws and stepped up onto them. The fox immediately understood, bracing himself as he bent down, then threw the light rabbit up with all of his might. Just as the bunny managed to grab onto the lower railing, the lion skidded past the opening. Nick glanced back upwards in horrified anguish as time almost seemed to slow down. Judy pulled herself up onto the metal floor, and the Lion turned to them, letting out a roar. There wouldn't be enough time... it was going to pounce, and then it would all be over. _At least Judy is safe_ , he had time to think, then yipped in suprise as, just as the lion tensed its muscles to jump, it was thrown aside by the wave of feral animals that had managed to break down the fire exit. In the midst of the chaos, he heard a _thunk_ behind him, and turned and jumped without even looked. He breathed a sigh of relief as his paws grasped at the comforting coolness of the metal ladder, and he climbed, faster than he ever had before. The fur on his ankle raised as he felt a claw miss it by an inch, and he jumped again, instead grabbing the floor of the fire escape. Judy uncliped the ladder from the other hook, detaching it, and threw it down, tensing her jaw as she watched it fall on top of the feral creatures below. It didn't stop them from growling and howling and even screaming, and more were coming. She helped Nick up, and they continued up the fire escape, climbing ladders and stairs and ignoring the sounds of the animals reaching up hopelessly to them from below.

It took them a little longer than they'd expected to reach the roof of the building. The apartment/store was much bigger than they'd thought, and for the last five floors they were quiet, and as fleeting as possible at the windows. The last thing they wanted was for another animal to come out onto the fire escape.

Above them the sky was a surprisingly bright shade of blue. Judy had just assumed that during this time of death and evil the sky would be grey, cloudy and always drizzling. actually there weren't many clouds about, but the rabbit supposed that was just due to the breakdown of the terraforming machines. She fidgeted a little as she felt the first twinges and pulls of her coming... problem, but she gritted teeth and ignored it, turning to Nick.

"So what are we supposed to do now? It's not like we can reach any other buildings from here, and those things aren't going away any time soon."

Nick sighed and flopped down onto an air conditioning vent. "Patience, my dear rabbit. They will, eventually. Although, if the film industry has taught me anything, right about a chopper'll come out of nowhere..." They both waited silently. When nothing had happened after two whole minutes, Nick sighed, his usually pert fox ears drooping. "Bother."

Judy went to make a smart remark when she stopped, staring at the roof of the building. Nick turned in confusion to see a group of animals on the rooftop opposite, a large figure at the front, waving its arms. Nick shielded his eyes from the sun and peered at the animal. It was a cheetah, dressed in blue, that had a very un-cheetah-like frame. Nick shook his head in disbelief and turned to his partner, who returned the look. " _Clawhauser!?_ " The both exclaimed in disbelief.


	7. Chapter 6: A beacon of Hope

Nick squinted, trying to make out more of the cheetah and the animals behind him. He couldn't see the chief, nor any of the mammals he worked with, at least not at this distance, but he was curious as to what the receptionist (ex-receptionist, he supposed) was doing. Sure, the arms were moving and the fox was fairly sure Clawhauser's jaw was too, but there was no sound at all, apart from the eerie wind and the far-off cries of infected mammals. The wind wasn't strong enough to carry away words, and the distance certainly didn't factor into it. He glanced at Judy in confusion, who shrugged in return.  
"I suppose this is usually the point one of use would pull out a pair of night-vision, high-tech binoculars and get a clear idea of what's going on." Nick stated, then glanced at the rabbit in hopeful anticipation. In response, his partner just shook her head at him, and he sighed. "Well, fine. Not that we'd need night-vision. Is it too much to hope for a waypoint or 'objectives screen-?'"  
"You play too many games. Look, normally I'd suggest shouting over to them ourselves, but obviously something is up. So let's just keep quiet, alright?"  
"Alright. Hang on, check down there." Nick pointed to the lower floor, and Judy tilted her head, taking a moment to see it. Through the window, a dark shape moved. And then another. And then, after a moment, another. "Cheese and- how many are down there?"  
"Enough to keep them silent." Nick murmured, trying not to smile at, against all odds, the retained innocence of his partner's language. He crouched down on one knee and rifled through his backpack, trying to find something that could provide communication. A radio would have been really helpful, but he'd have been just as happy with two tin cans and a piece of string.  
 _A radio._ Of couse, how had they been so stupid? Nick pivoted around, still on one knee, and grabbed Judy's utility belt, the one garment she had taken with her during the stakeout. The rabbit jerked away in surprise, raising an eyebrow at him, but her lavender eyes widened as she realised what he was doing. Pushing the fox away, she retrived the radio from one of her pockets and looked at it. She knew it still worked, unlike the phones, but it had been damaged during a rather unsuccesful run – the first they had tried in week two of the infection – and so seemed only able to tune to a few stations… all of which returned only static and disappointment. She held it up, wondering if the group would be able to see it, when Nick laughed. She looked up at him questioningly, and he replied " _They_ have binoculars." The fox was right; an animal next to Clawhauser – a dog of some kind, she thought – was holding a binocular-shaped device up to them. He turned and consulted with the cheetah, who seemed to nod and get something out. A radio, most likely. She looked at her own, and held the knob, adjusting the channel preset. The radios they were issued by the ZPD could, for some reason, only access ZPD channels. She assumed it was for security reasons. She wasn't exactly sure how these things worked in practice, but she hoped that Clawhauser would be able to find their channel and-  
" _Judy!? Nick!?"_ A staticy, whispering voice zipped through the radio, surpring them both. "You guys have no idea how glad I am to see you! Yes, Blake, I _am_ whipsering. Look, you two, I'd love to stay and chat, catch up on things and hear about- hey!" There was the low quality sound of jostling, and the two watched as the dog took the radio from Clawhauser. His voice, when he spoke, was deep and smooth, even with all the static. "Right, now that the introductions are out of the way… we need your help. To put it simply, we've got a bunch of infected mammals prowling around beneath our feet and this blasted building didn't follow its recommneded safety codes- the exterior fire escapes are non-existent."  
"How did you get up there, then?" Nick whispered.  
"I assume you heard the gunfire earlier? That wasn't us... that was the Red Paw. We didn't have the forces to fight them, so we were forced into this building. A big mistake, apparently. It was a nest, and they chased us all the way up here. It was only thanks to the efforts of Wolford and Parington that we made it this far."  
"Wolford?" Judy whispered. "Did he… is he still-"  
"They..." The voice on the other end faltered. "They stopped screaming a few minutes ago. We havn't heard anything since." Judy closed her eyes and hung her head, and Nick sighed, placing a comforting paw on his partner's shoulder. He gently took the radio from Judy. "Red Paw?"  
"They're a band of mammals that have… well, they're pretty much taking over the city. Or what's left of it. I'm surprised you haven't heard of them."  
"We havn't really been… out much. You said you didn't have the force to fight them… I'm fairly sure there's, like, twenty of you."  
"We aren't very well equiped. We spent most of our ammo getting this far. And this is the Red Paw we're talking about… just five of them would have been too many, and there were at least a dozen."  
Nick was quiet. Things had certianly changed while they were inside, locked away, doing nothing to help others. Or themselves, really.

The fox shook his head. There was no point dwelling on that now. It was time for some action. "So what can we do?"  
"I hate to ask, but we need a distraction. Something to draw these Ferals out from the floor below. Just so we can get to the internal fire escape. As far as we can tell, it's empty, and should lead us straight out of here. We can meet up with you then, and get the hell out of here."  
"And go where?"  
"Back to the station. We'll have to call this mission a failure"

At that, Judy looked up. "Hold on… the station's still going?"  
"Ah, yes. I should explain. The station has pretty much become our base of operations. We're taking back the city, slowly. Well, the parts the Red Paw haven't gotten to, anyway. We were meant to be finding a booster for our radio tower. Sure, our radios can communicate with eachother close range, but from here we can't reach the station."  
The two animals looked at eachother, and nodded. This was what they needed; some small, glimmer of hope that there was still something, _someone_ , out there. And this was pretty much a beacon. A beacon of hope. Judy took back the radio and stood, a determined look on her face.

"We'll do it. See you soon. Judy, out."


End file.
